A first-of-its-kind hurricane shelter could be coming to Windward Oʻahu. A 5-acre plot in Hauʻula is the site of the proposed Koʻolauloa Resilience Community Hub.
It would be able to withstand a Category 5 hurricane and provide critical resources — including shelter, food, water, medical services and internet — for up to 30 days during a disaster.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources recently posted a draft environmental assessment of the proposed hub, anticipating that it will have no significant environmental impact.
The nonprofit Hui o Hau‘ula has developed plans for the hub. President Dotty Kelly-Paddock has wanted a resilience shelter in the area for more than a decade because of the Koʻolauloa community’s vulnerability during a natural disaster like a hurricane.
“In a Category 1, it's projected by the city and state that 85% of our homes will be destroyed. So that sounds pretty dire to me,” Kelly-Paddock said.
“So we're taking measures, putting those into action that can help save lives of people in this area, because there are going to be a lot of people in very, very severe need.”
Kamehameha Highway is the primary road in and out of many Windward Oʻahu communities, but the highway, many of the homes it serves, and nearby utilities are close to the coast and projected to be flooded if a hurricane hits the area.
There are no hurricane shelters along that stretch of the coast, and Kelly-Paddock added that poverty is high in the area.
The resilience hub would consist of a three-story primary hub and a support building. The primary hub’s design would resemble a “huli o ka waʻa,” or a “flipped canoe.”
The draft environmental assessment said Native Hawaiians used to shelter under canoes while in open water to protect themselves from incoming storms.
An additional two-story support building would resemble a Hawaiian hale with an A-frame shape.
The hub’s capacity would be 1,500 people. Kelly-Paddock said more hubs are needed along the coast and throughout the state to adequately shelter residents during disasters.
